


Lost in the forest

by DaddyDiogenes



Category: Real Person Fiction
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-29
Updated: 2019-12-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:35:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22021171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DaddyDiogenes/pseuds/DaddyDiogenes





	Lost in the forest

I slung Matthew’s arm over my shoulder as we limped out of the forest like war veterans. It wasn’t nearly that serious, but one would be amiss to say that Matthew was over exaggerating.   
Matthew wouldn’t complain about anything unless he was dying. I know this because I’ve seen him almost die on multiple occasions, then brush it off and try again. He was Santiago, and I was Manolin. We both knew the rice was a lie, yet neither of us wanted to ruin it.  
I helped him up the porch steps and he opened the door. I sat him down and went to my mother’s bedroom to get the stitches and gauze. “Matthew, I swear to God if you move I’ll kill you,” I said. “We’re already not getting our deposit back because you broke our windows, I won’t have you trailing blood through the carpet!”   
As I said this, Matthew was already limping towards the kitchen. The hole in his foot was bleeding profusely, spotting the carpet. “Don’t worry, I didn’t touch your precious carpet with my mangled foot.”  
I rolled my eyes and sighed as I beckoned him over to the table. “Matthew, your hopping isn’t helping!” I snapped, taking his foot in my hand.   
“Aww, but you’re so cute when you’re mad!” He said, wincing from the antiseptic.  
As I washed the dirt and grass from his wound, I had to contort my face to keep from smiling. This only made him smile more. “At least I can still use both my feet,” I said, my face red. I should have used more alcohol.   
After cleaning it out, I prepared the stitches. “This is going to hurt. Are you ready?” I asked. He nodded and laid his head back as I stuck the needle into his skin. The world went into slow motion as I dodged the foot flying towards my face.   
“Shit! Sorry.” Said, Matthew. He leaned over to see if I was alright, but that only upset the gaping wound in his lesser limb. I motioned him to move back again and grabbed his hand. ‘Ok, I’m going to count to three. Ready?” He nodded. His face was blank, but his knuckles were white around my sweaty palm. “One, two, THREE  
* * *  
After I finished stitching and wrapping his foot, I made some tea for the both of us and sat at the table.  
“So, what do you want to do now?” He said, sipping his tea. I looked down at my tea, too hot for me to drink. “Do you want to just sit here? Maybe talk about what happened in the forest” I said. “Santiago may say that nothing happened in the forest, but I want to know the truth.”  
Matthew combed the scruff of his neck and looked up at me. “What do you want to know?”  
There was a long silence as Matthew stared at me. I hadn’t thought about what I wanted to know; I just wanted to fight the awkwardness growing between us. Did he even feel that awkwardness, or was it just me? Am I trying to push him away now that the boy I’ve loved for the past two years has shown that he loves me back?  
“How did you kiss me?” I said.  
“Uh, With my lips?” He said, puzzled.  
“That’s not what I meant, Matthew! You’re not real!”  
Matthew was dumbfounded. “What do you mean, ‘I’m not real’?”  
“You are just a figment of my imagination! That’s why I can’t touch you, that’s why you’re always there when I need you, that’s the only explanation!” I said, getting louder. “You can’t be real!” My eyes were filling with tears.  
Matthew thumbed at the edge of his mug, having drank his tea. “If I’m not real,” he said, limping to the kitchen sink. “then how did I kiss you?” He said. He put his mug down, then hobbled to my mother’s bedroom, hugging the wall. Matthew took the spare crutches from behind her medicine cabinet and started for the door.   
I stared out the window for hours after he left. I studied the trees, the birds, the various traps scattered through the tall grass. I thought about how real that kiss really was, and what that meant, for me and for Matthew. Matthew might be the only person I love who loves me back, and I just pushed him away, like all the other boys who’ve loved me. Is Matthew really like all those other boys?   
I had to talk to Matthew again. I put my tennis shoes on and ran to his house. When I got there, Matthew’s house had been stretched upwards. The stairs had broken off from the rest of the building, and the door was now 20 feet in the air. I could hear Matthew yelling from the inside. “MOM! STOP, MOM! Somebody, HELP!”  
I backed up and ran towards the wall. I reached up as far as I could but didn’t grab onto the door frame. Again, I ran up the wall. I was able to reach the door frame, but my fingers slipped, and I fell. I landed on my tailbone, bruising it badly. “Are you okay?” I heard Matthew say, sitting next to me.   
“But, how are you-” I said, but Matthew just shushed me. “You have to reach me, Jeremiah! You can do this, just one more try.” Matthew picked me up off the ground, but when I turned around, he was gone. I knew what I had to do. I backed up, ran towards the wall, and launched myself upwards. I grabbed on to the doorknob this time. I tried to wriggle it open, but it wouldn’t budge. Dangling 20 ft from the ground, I started to panic. Then, the door swung open. 

Thank god that door opens inwards. I fell to the floor as Matthew caught me. “Jeremiah? What are you doing here?” He said, puzzled.  
I brushed myself off and looked Matthew in the eyes. “Matthew, I love you.”  
Matthew smiled at me and said, “I know.”  
He moved closer to me and we kissed, together, neither side doubting the other. “Let’s go back to my house, okay?” I said, rubbing my eyes. “Before you disappear.”  
Matthew rolled his eyes. “Why would I disappear? Why don’t you believe that I’m real?”   
“Well, you disappeared earlier!” I said, laughing.   
“What does that even mean?” He said, opening the door. As he opened the door, I saw the stairs in their right position. I slowly walked out the door, looking back at the outside of the house. It looked as if nothing had happened. I rubbed my tailbone and felt nothing.   
“Sorry,” I said. “It was nothing, I guess. Just a joke.”   
Matthew looked at me with concern, planted a kiss on my cheek and started walking to my house with me. The hole in his foot was gone.


End file.
